New year, same mission: Good jobs for all

We’ve awarded $65 million in grants to 18 colleges in 14 states to increase access to affordable workforce training. The fifth round of Strengthening Community Colleges grants will help community colleges scale affordable, high-quality workforce training to meet employers’ and workers’ skill development needs in critical industry sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, semiconductors and biotechnology and harness the strengths of community college partnerships to drive broad, lasting improvements within the system.

The Employment and Training Administration awarded $3.5 million to the Montana Department of Labor and Industry for employment and training services for workers affected by the Sibanye-Stillwater mine layoffs. The National Dislocated Worker Grant will allow Montana to provide retraining and skills development for people affected by the layoffs in Carbon, Golden Valley, Meagher, Musselshell, Park, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Wheatland and Yellowstone counties in Montana.

A federal court in Michigan has entered a judgment requiring a specialty supermarket and restaurant in Pontiac to pay $192,500 in back wages, damages and penalties after department investigators found the employers denied overtime wages, later demanded some workers kick back their back wages and damages to them and allegedly tried to obstruct investigators. “Employers who shortchange their workers also harm local economies by reducing the amounts workers can spend day today,” explained Wage and Hour Division District Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit. “Wage theft is a common problem, especially for low-wage workers who may be afraid to question their employers’ pay practices or to share their concerns with authorities.”

OSHA is making comprehensive data on more than 890,000 worker injuries and illnesses at more than 91,000 workplaces in 2023 available to the public. The data includes details on the conditions and circumstances of workplace injuries and illnesses and enables researchers to identify patterns and trends in injuries, illnesses and hazardous conditions more effectively.

Miners and their families face challenges in accessing critical care and support services. Our Mine Safety and Health Administration has created a new, user-friendly tool to help them find the healthcare facilities that can meet their needs.

We’ve awarded a National Dislocated Worker Grant of $601,782 to the Kansas Local Workforce Investment Area III Inc. to support retraining and skills development for dislocated workers affected by ongoing General Motors layoffs.

A 47-year-old construction worker died after a dive test below a North Carolina bridge in June 2024 and OSHA found his employer failed to take steps that might have prevented the tragedy.

Cold weather brings extra risks for workers. Employers have a responsibility to protect workers from weather-related hazards; it’s essential that they know the risks and how to keep workers safe. Explore OSHA’s guidance for winter working conditions.

More than 100 home care workers will get their share of $355,000 after investigators recovered back wages and damages from two Louisiana employers.

As we welcome another year, it’s a great time to focus on your financial future. Use our tools to review your progress and adjust your plan so you can reach your goals.

Part of our mission is helping workers know their rights. Download this toolkit with information on workers’ organizing rights and protections against retaliation.

Learn about our efforts in 2024 to upgrade IT, transform federal customer experience, provide secure access to our services and increase access to quality data.

Dedicated Wage and Hour Division investigator Lesbia Rodriguez describes the proudest moment of her career. 

After working all day to help America's workers, job seekers and retirees, many of our staff go home to friendly faces. 🐶 🐱 🐦 🐴 🐷 Here are some of the #DOLPets we've highlighted over the past year. Who's your favorite?

• Pacific Daily News: Pilot in $2M OSHA award speaks out 
• NPR: Biden's overtime rule was struck down. Now some workers are losing pay raises
• Construction Dive: OSHA finalizes PPE standard for construction 
• Pit and Quarry: Mine fatalities near all-time low as 2024 approaches finish 
• NextGov: Unemployment isn’t recession-ready — but it’s getting better, says acting Labor secretary 
• Daily Montanan: Montana awarded $3.5 million federal grant to help laid off Sibanye-Stillwater mine workers 
• Times Union: Amazon settles OSHA cases over worker injuries 
• Lansing State Journal: Court hits Michigan Barrio Taco franchises with wage theft judgment. What the judge said